Halo: When Marines meet Mercenaries
by Alan and Nicole Corran
Summary: What happens when a covenant flagship gets hit by a superlaser? The same thing as everything else! Please R&R.
1. A New Arrival

Chapter One: A New Arrival

"Captain! Multiple contacts exiting slipspace! Looks like a bunch of beat-up Covenant frigates sir," Corporal Mendrick reported. "It looks like they've just run from a fight."

Captain Miranda Keyes leaned forward to study her own displays. The disturbingly familiar bulbous shapes of the covenant ships were punctured in many places by holes and scars that could not have been caused by any UNSC weapon. She made a mental note to ask intelligence about those scars, but right now she had a job to do. Three of the four battered frigates were venting atmosphere, and as she watched one of the frigates exploded from the sheer strain of reentering realspace. Of the remaining three ships only one of them looked like it could be a threat.

Straightening herself in the chair Amanda surveyed the waiting command crew. "Alright, another case of coming out of the frying pan and into the fire, and for once _we_ are the fire. Ready the MAC gun and Archer missile pods, set speed to—"

"Captain, another target has entered from slipspace! Only this one isn't covenant and it's HUGE! Target does not appear damaged; it's covered by some weird alloy that is neither covenant nor human. I think we now know what they were running from."

The newcomer opened fire upon the hapless covenant ships that were at least two times smaller than that black-clad hostile. The crew of the UNSC _Star Galleon _could only watch in awe as the behemoth fired green beams of energy at its victims, easily tearing through the frigate's damaged shields and burning away the patched hulls. Both of the critically damaged covenant ships soon erupted into a balls of flame. The third ship, however, was able to charge up its weapons and fire at its attacker. The plasma hurled towards the triangular hull, and splashed harmlessly against the black metal, not even a burn mark to show its effect.

"I'm reading a power surge from the target," Lieutenant Jacobson read automatically from his screen.

The ghostly black ship angled it's "nose" toward the upstart covenant who had dared to fire upon it. The tip of the ship's front began to glow as it charged up its main weapon. The captain could hear the crew and herself audibly inhale a collective breath as they awaited the inevitable. Suddenly a thick beam of green energy shot out of the ship's front and collided with the small covenant frigate, which disappeared in a colossal explosion.

It was only then the newcomer took notice of the UNSC ship. It started to slowly navigate its way closer. In all of her years Captain Keyes had never been so frightened; her legs shook as she watched her doom float towards her menacingly.

"They're hailing us captain," said Mendrick in shaky voice.

"Put them on."

The corporal forced his shaky hands to obey the order and then stopped to listen to the cold voice that floated through the deathly quiet ship.

"_Unidentified ship, this is the Iron Wolf of the sovereign world Triad. I advise you to power down and prepare to be boarded."_

"They seem like cheerful people," remarked Cortana somewhere from within Master Chief's mind.

The Spartan grunted his agreement as he turned and started jogging towards the bridge. The captain was going to want to see him, probably to prepare the ship's defense. He had no doubt that the people on the _Iron Wolf _were rebels, given their talk about the "sovereign planet of Triad." _Whatever Triad is anyway. _He racked his brain for any information on an inhabited planet called Triad, hoping to find out at least exactly who these people might be. Maybe he should ask—

"I wonder who they are," Cortana said to herself.

"I was hoping you would know."

"There are no records of a human or covenant inhabited planet known as Triad. Someone could have renamed a rebel planet, or this could be some new species the covenant has ticked off and that we could ally with, or the species may just kill us and return to it's planet without worrying that it is being followed."

"That's a pleasant thought," replied Master Chief dryly.

"Either way it means that we are being delayed in our search for the next Halo. Already Sergeant Johnson has declared that if he has to spend another minute with Guilty Spark he is going to hang himself."

"The Arbiter was mentioning that the other day if I remember correctly, adding on that if that is the sergeant's true intention, he was going to help."

"They don't get along, do they?" sighed Cortana.

"Like two male badgers in a small den."

Passing through a door the Master Chief was greeted by the familiar sight of confusion in a place where he didn't want it—the bridge.

"Captain, um, we're moving sideways." Lieutenant Katt squirmed in her seat, obviously uncomfortable in the knowledge that the _Star Galleon_ was no longer under her control.

"What do you mean, 'sideways'?" Miranda Keyes looked up from her console where data statistics of the alien ship scrolled down in droves, and peered at the young navigator who couldn't help but fidget in discomfort.

"There seems to be some sort of gravitational field emanating from that ship, and it's pulling us in."

The captain was up now and looking over the lieutenant's shoulder. They were indeed going towards the newcomer under the influence of some sort of tractor beam. "Can you get the area the tractor beam's affecting on screen?"

"Yes, captain."

A map showing the location of the _Star Galleon_ and the gravitation fields nearby appeared on the large screen at the front of the bridge, the gravitational field created by the _Iron Wolf_ showing in green. To everyone's dismay, the _Star Galleon _was too far into the tractor beam to have any hope of escape. The captain sat down hard in the command chair and sighed, rubbing her temples. "Alright, we're going to have to take the _Iron Wolf_'s advice. Power down and prepare a welcoming committee. I want Master Chief on this bridge faster that I can say—"

"—Holy tropical fruit salad, Batman!" Cortana finished for the captain as Master Chief stepped onto the bridge.

"Reporting as was going to be ordered, Captain," said the Chief with a smart salute in Amanda's direction.

Captain Keyes breathed a sigh of relief. The sight of the Chief standing there was like the sight of land after years lost on a stormy sea.

"Chief, I need you to get down to the airlocks and lead the defense of this ship. Cortana, I need you in the central computer for now. You're going to beam yourself into their computer system if you can, and give them the worst headache they've ever had! Master Chief, find Sergeant Johnson and have him report to me, I have a special mission for him. Also, if these people are hostile against the covenant, make sure the Arbiter and his crew is kept out of sight until we can figure things out."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The Spartan walked over to the A.I. console and inserted Cortana into the computer. She promptly appeared on her pedestal.

"This is going to be tricky," Cortana mused, turning a deep purple. "They have a very, _interesting_, setup for input. Whoever runs that ship doesn't mess around. I'll have myself uploaded onto their system in a few minutes."

"Good luck."

"Thanks, you too."

Master Chief turned away from the A.I. and headed down to the armory where Sergeant Johnson was getting several boxes of frag grenades down so they could be distributed among the marines.

"Sergeant, the captain wants you up on the bridge so she can brief you on a special assignment."

"Don't tell me I'm going to be scrubbing toilets while you grab all the glory," Avery said with a grin. Setting a box of grenades down on the floor he saluted the Spartan, who returned it. "Did she say what it was?"

"No and I didn't ask, you better get up there."

"Alright, I'm going," the sergeant said, rolling his eyes and turning to leave.

"Sergeant, do you know where the Arbiter is? I have orders regarding him as well."

Turning, but not stopping, Avery pointed over to the far end of the armory and frowned, then turned his back on Master Chief and jogged towards the bridge. Sighing, Master Chief walked in the direction the sergeant had indicated. The Arbiter was sitting along with his fellow elites, each checking their weapons and stocking themselves with extra plasma grenades.

"The captain wants you guys to stay here unless the fighting really gets fierce. Those guys on the _Iron Wolf_ are hostile to covenant and it would probably hinder any negotiations if you assisted in the fighting."

The Arbiter looked up at the Spartan with a look border lining on anger. However any argument that would have started was halted by the sound of scraping and a very metallic _thud_. The elites clicked their mandibles in alarm and looked to the Arbiter for orders. Throwing a venomous glance at the Spartan he relayed the captain's orders to his crew. None of them liked it but they realized it was too late to challenge the order. They had about five minutes before the ship was boarded.

"Alright, we'll stay here until further notice. Get yourself armed, Demon, this could be a rough fight."

The Chief muttered his thanks and grabbed some plasma grenades. He ran over to the wall lockers and grabbed a battle rifle, a shotgun, and a handful of ammo. Grabbing a few boxes of frag grenades he shouted to all the marines.

"Get up to the air lock! We need to defend this ship at all costs! Last person up there has to eat a bucket of that slop they give us during hibernation! Let's MOVE IT!"

The marines turned and ran for their lives out the door. When they came up to the air lock they found a small group of marines already there getting the welcome wagon ready under the watchful eye of Sergeant Johnson. A few titanium plates were propped up for the marines to use as cover, while a portable turret was set up so that anyone coming through the air lock would be staring down its barrel. On the walls, floor, and ceiling around the air lock the marines were setting up some frag grenades that were all connected to a trip wire. A single lotus antitank mine served as the trigger for the trap. The sergeant grinned as the Spartan approached.

"Those guys are gonna get one hell of a surprise when they step through that door. We heard them setting up explosives on the other side, it looks like they're gonna blow their way through. I hope they don't set of the trap off before they walk into it."

"As long as their personal armor is a lot weaker than their ship's armor we'll be fine, trap or no trap," the Chief indicated the boxes of frags, "thought you may want some more punch."

"Don't mind if I do," the Sergeant replied, grabbing a handful and clipping them onto his belt. Everyone took cover behind the titanium plates and waited, guns trained on the air lock. The seconds ticked by, Master Chief sincerely wished that he could wipe away the sweat beading on his brow. One of the marines shifted to a more comfortable position.

Suddenly an explosion ripped the airlock open, and a humanoid figure wearing black armor stepped into the _Star Galleon_ wielding a five-foot-long rod. It stepped out of the smoke and right onto the antitank mine. The marines ducked behind their cover as the figure looked down at what it had trod on.

"Aww, SHIT!"

In a brilliant flash the creature was slammed up against the ceiling and fell back to the floor, its armor undamaged but whatever was inside it wasn't moving.


	2. An Explosive Welcome

Chapter 2: An Explosive Welcome

"What was THAT?" exclaimed Admiral Ehren Varick as he looked out into the smoke that choked the doorway, squeezing his staff in surprise.

"Sounds like they took your advice and got prepared," one of the captains said dryly, drawing his blaster.

A dozen infantry units started filing out of the TIE boarding craft, shooting as they went. The defenders returned fire in earnest, pummeling the infantry with bullets but were unable to pierce their black quantum-crystalline Mandalorian armor. A few seconds later a string of explosions were heard from the tripped frag grenades. One of the troopers hailed him on the comlink as screams from the surprised attackers drifted through the doorway.

"Sir! They're human, not covenant!"

Ehren sighed in relief; they probably wouldn't have to fight after all. You couldn't negotiate with the covenant, but you could negotiate with humans as long as you didn't royally piss them off, and he sincerely hoped he hadn't.

"Cease fire! Do not discharge another shot until I say otherwise!"

Grabbing his staff the Admiral stepped into the human ship and assessed the damage. His forward party, Commander Brinks, was unconscious and probably had a few broken bones. That was probably from the first explosion he'd heard. A handful of his infantry had been knocked off their feet from the grenades. However none of them seemed to be seriously hurt, and those still standing were patiently bracing themselves against the bullets pounding against them. It didn't look like the defenders had taken any casualties aside from losing the turret, blaster marks pocketed the barriers the defenders were using for cover.

"Truce! I call for a truce!" shouted Ehren over his external speakers. Most of the defenders complied, only a large brute of a guy in sickly green armor seemed to disagree with the admiral. He threw a plasma grenade at Ehren before the he had a chance to react, the bluish flame sticking to his midsection. _Crap this is gonna hurt,_ thought Ehren as he braced himself. The resulting explosion would've killed him if he hadn't been wearing the quantum armor. As it was the grenade only doubled him over.

"Sir?" questioned one of the soldiers as Ehren tried to regain the ability to breath.

"I… think I… was just… kicked… by… a wookie…" he managed to gasp out.

"Get the Admiral back inside, we'll deal with this—"

"No need… I'm… okay now," said Ehren as he stood up and faced the amazed defenders. "So, you still want to resist right after I declare a truce, huh? Unless you want my boys to start aiming to kill then I suggest you put down your weapons and tell me exactly who's in charge here. Then we may be able to start negotiations."

The person in the green armor stepped forward. The two meter tall giant lowered his weapon and seemed to confer with someone else silently on a comlink. Nodding, he looked at the Admiral and dropped his weapon. The rest of the defenders filed suit.

"I'm leading the defense of this ship. My commanding officer is the captain of this ship. If you want to hold negotiations you'll have to talk with her on this ship."

"Correction, we're going to hold the negotiations on _my _ship," Ehren said as he stared down the defender. "If you have a problem with that than I suggest you deal with it—you have no choice but to listen to me."

The reply was instant; the leader of the defenders swiped up his rifle and started firing. The defenders also picked up their weapons and started firing. Ehren's troopers raised their weapons but instead of firing looked to the Admiral for orders. _So, it's come to this._ Ehren thought as he started to concentrate his will upon the defender's weapons.

Suddenly all the defender's weapons were torn from their grasp, Ehren flung the weapons into the boarding craft and turned to the defenders. He didn't use the force often; it was his last resort in a situation like this. Like all Mandalorians he had an extreme dislike for the Jedi, which was totally understandable because it was the Jedi who had almost wiped them out. However he also had no trouble using the force when in battle, it gave him a decisive edge when going head-to-head with an enemy. Ehren was the only Mandalorian to have the force and serve among the Jedi, but that was before the

Clone Wars. He was forced to turn his back on his Jedi brothers and join his brethren in the fight against the Old Republic. All ties he had shared with the Jedi had been severed in that last battle where the Mandalorians had almost been destroyed.

"As I said," Ehren Varick said slowly as he returned to the present. "We will be having the negotiations on my ship."

"So I see," the giant said, regaining his composure after being taken off guard by the Admiral's telekinetic ability.

"Bring down your captain, yourself, and a few other people you believe should have a say in what goes on," the Admiral ordered as he used the force to retrieve his staff.

"Yes Sir," the man said as he eyed the staff. "Nice stick."

With out a word the Admiral thumbed the ignition and with a familiar _snap-hiss_ one end spurted an orange lightsaber. Ehren neatly sliced through one of the titanium plates.

"Thanks," Ehren grunted, turning off the staff-style lightsaber and walking into the boarding craft. His comlink chimed as he walked through the door. "Admiral Varick."

"_Umm, Sir, we've ran into a problem."_

"What kind of problem."

_"There's a virus in our main computer."_

"A virus?"

"_Well we think it's a virus. It has a personality and she gets kind of huffy if you call her a virus."_

"She?"

_"Yeah, we're kind of confused as well. However we know she was beamed from the captured ship."_

_Of course. _ "I'll deal with this later, Captain."

_"Yes, Admiral, bridge out."_

These humans were becoming more of a problem than they were worth. He had to give them credit though; it wasn't easy to input a virus onto his ship. It was another issue to bring up at the meeting. He'd have to send someone to the kitchens to get food for the meeting as well. _Hope they like nerf steak._ The Admiral wandered towards his quarters so he could start making preparations for his guests.


	3. Introductions

(A/N) I do not own Halo or Star Wars except the characters I created. On a further note its Alan writing this, Nicole is my sister; just clearing up any confusion, moving on.

Chapter 3: Introductions

Ehren's eyes swept the group of beings the defenders had brought and resisted a sudden urge to blast them all to hell. Who would have thought that they would be dumb enough to trust a covenant soldier? The elite had only escaped death because the giant had stepped in the way of his blaster. He didn't care what alien species got kicked outta the covenant, simply being in that covenant was condemnation enough. _Stop this raving. _Ehren chided himself. _Genocide never helped a cause. Didn't help the Empire, won't help you. It may even make the situation worse._ Calming himself he looked over the rest of the defenders.

The giant was here, obviously uncomfortable being around possible enemies unarmed. A black guy who looked ready for anything, mainly because he had refused to go anywhere without a weapon, was sitting with a shotgun across his lap. Ehren had taken an instant liking to him; the man was a hundred percent ass-kicking soldier. Though he didn't quite understand why he was here—the man was only a sergeant. Next up was the captain. Not a bad looking girl, she wasn't the prettiest woman he had ever met, however she had a definite spark to her, a natural brilliance not only in body but in mind; small wonder that she was the commander of a ship the size of a Star Destroyer.

The Admiral readjusted himself in his armor. To describe it, picture an Imperial Royal Guard that put on a mandalorian helmet, painted themselves black except for a gold inverted triforce over the left breast and bars on their shoulder pads (which are above the robe) to indicate their rank. All those who were in his elite mercenary band, known as the wraiths, wore this armor. Only everyone else's markings were in silver, not gold.

"Let's get this over with," grumbled the sergeant as he played with the safety on the shotgun. They sat around an oblong table with the opposing parties facing each other.

"First, I think introductions are in order," Ehren announced as they sat.

"I agree," replied the defender's captain. "I'm Captain Miranda Keyes."

"Welcome to the _Iron Wolf_ Captain. I am Admiral Ehren Varick, commander of this ship and leader of the mercenary group known as the Wraiths. We'll talk about them later, right now I want to know who your companions are."

"Well, I'm Sergeant Avery Johnson, Sir," the black man said, saluting.

"I'm the Arbiter," the elite said, making the greeting hand gesture.

"Ah, one of the covenants elite elites, glad to meet you," Ehren whispered, returning the gesture. Then he turned his attention to the giant. "And you are?"

"Spartan 117, Master Chief, Sir," said the giant.

"What is your name soldier?"

The Spartan considered this a moment, shrugging he answered the question, "Spartan 117, Sir."

"That's not a name, it's a serial number. I asked for your _name_."

"And I answered you; it's Spartan 117, Sir."

The Admiral sighed and threw his hands in the air, "Alright, Spartan, I give up. You're worse than a stormtrooper."

Captain Keyes perked up, "Did you say 'stormtrooper'?"

"Yes, why?"

"What type of ship is this, exactly?"

The question caught the Admiral off guard, "It's a modified Kuat Drive Yards _Eclipse_-Class Super Star Destroyer."

The answer made a visual effect on the captain. Her eyes had flared and she had clenched her fist when he had said 'Super Star Destroyer.' _What flint did I strike to make such a flame? _Ehren wondered briefly. Then the answer came to him.

"Oh, no. I'm not in any way affiliated with the Imperials, Captain. I assure you that I am acting solely on my own here. I simply managed to… convince, Kuat of Kuat that this was a good investment."

"In other words you allowed him to live a day longer if he made it for you."

"The last Kuat of Kuat got on the bad side of a bounty hunter and died for it; this one didn't want to follow in his predecessor's footsteps."

"What exactly is going on here?" asked Master Chief speculatively. "How come you recognized the style of ship, Captain?"

Miranda turned towards the Spartan. "Haven't you ever watched 'Star Wars'?"

"No."

"It's a classic movie, you should watch it. Anyway apparently that movie has gone and come true," Miranda pointed at Ehren. "This man is from the Star Wars universe, or more accurately, this universe. Either that or it's an elaborate prank. However I doubt that it's a prank, it's too real, the technology is exactly the same. This is going to be huge for all the remaining Stargeeks."

"You know it's rude to point," said Ehren, annoyed. "What are you rambling about anyway? I don't know of any movie, or prank, or 'Stargeeks'. Let's focus on the task at hand, shall we?"

"Of course," mumbled Miranda.

"First off—WHAT DID YOU FUCKING PUT IN MY FUCKING COMPUTER!" raged Ehren. Everyone was taken aback by the sudden outburst, however the defenders soon started to chuckle.

"Oh dear," laughed Avery. "We forgot about Cortana."

And as though summoned by his very words a figure appeared on the holoprojector on the table.

Cortana had found it rather difficult to access the _Iron Wolf_'s computer mainframe. However she was readily equipped with every hacking mode you could possible think of, and she soon was causing havoc on the ship.

She had fun reprogramming the MSE droids to trip whoever walked past them. Orders were being changed for everyone, from the highest ranking officials down to the maintenance droids. Some of the generals found their orders to be scrubbing toilets while others had the more unpleasant job of hand-washing the Admiral's dirty socks. Meanwhile the maintenance droids were being placed on guard duty or were simply commanded to cause as much destruction as possible.

Thanks to common sense the generals continued as they thought best and ignored their orders and some very dedicated tech workers kept damage to a minimum and most of the droids had been returned to their normal routines. However no matter how hard they tried to isolate the annoying A.I. she always managed to slip out of their tightening grasp. They had begun to give up when suddenly the MSE droids began to whistle "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves." Those techs had never worked harder to isolate a virus in their whole life.

While in the nav computer Cortana had made a shocking discovery. She had seen the Star Wars movies with Dr. Halsey, and she was surprised by what she saw in the preprogrammed nav points. 'Coruscant,' 'Endor,' 'Hoth,' 'Naboo,' 'Kashyyyk?' Could these people be from Star Wars? Was a fictional movie based on actual events? Cortana had much to ponder as she dodged the firewalls the techs were trying to net her in.

She stopped a second to look at the personal log of the Admiral. _So, he's meeting with Captain Keyes right now, hmm? I'm going to have to drop by and pay them a visit._

"Speaking of the devil," said Master Chief. "There she is."

"Hello, Chief, Captain, Sergeant, Elite," Turning towards the Admiral Cortana smiled and said. "And hello to you as well, ugly!"

Instead of being insulted Ehren was thrilled with this valuable piece of technology. She was like a droid who had been left without memory wipes for a few millennia. He laughed heartily at the A.I.'s comment.

"Hello, virus," he returned, still laughing. "I see now it is you who has been causing all this trouble. Thanks for the order, but I don't think I will be 'sitting around, stewing in my own fecal matter' thank you very much!"

"Cortana, have you been messing around with orders?" asked Miranda.

"You said to cause them the worst headache they've ever had," countered Cortana.

"And you've been doing a hell of a job, by the sound of it," grunted the Arbiter.

"Now that everyone is here it's time to officially start this meeting," Ehren announced.


	4. A Tense Meeting

(A/N) I'm not on spring break anymore so if the chapters are short and I don't update often it's because I'm also trying to focus on schoolwork. I don't own Star Wars or Halo except the characters I created.

Chapter 4: A Tense Meeting

"Well, Admiral, it seems you've got quite an operation going on here," Captain Keyes said pleasantly. They had been bantering back and forth for at least an hour in a diplomatic stand-off. Testing each other for hidden motives, the extent they could trust each other, and occasionally flirting to throw each other off guard, the Admiral and the Captain squared off in a battle of wits.

And it was boring everyone else to the point of madness. Sergeant Johnson was dozing in his chair, the shotgun lay forgotten on the floor. The Arbiter was sitting back and watching the two with feigned interest, and Master Chief was sitting at attention and was using all of his willpower to not start banging his head on the table. Meanwhile Cortana had gone back to harassing the _Iron Wolf_'s inhabitants.

"_Admiral?_"

The tired voice of Captain Mendoza stopped Miranda and Ehrens' battle. Ehren keyed on the intercom.

"Yes, Captain?"

"_Admiral that **thing** is back and causing more havoc than before._"

Ehren threw a cold glance at Miranda and then started keying orders into his datapad.

"I'll deal with it now, Captain. Make sure those techs get a healthy bonus and the day off for their work. Also be prepared to board the captured ship again if I give the order," Ehren ignored the shocked look of the defenders. "Understood?"

"_Yes, Captain._"

When the Captain had signed off Miranda Keyes stood up and started to protest, however she was cut off at a gesture from the Admiral. It didn't matter if she was the leader of the best core of marines the UNSC had, here _he_ was the master. Clearing his throat the mercenary offered his explanation.

"Order you're A.I. to stop screwing with my ship and I'll inform the boarding party to disengage. However if Cortana continues to mess around with any of my property I will systematically kill every single one of your soldiers. After that if Cortana persists in causing my ship damage I will personally execute each of you in this order: the Arbiter, the Sergeant, Master Chief, and than you. If she continues I will purge my ship of its memory, crippling my ship for a while but destroying her, and when my ship is operational again I will name myself an enemy of the UNSC and destroy any UNSC soldier, ship, or planet. Make your choice."

Captain Miranda Keyes could only stare at the man who had threatened everything she held dear over the simple matter of a single A.I. playing with his computer system. _All he had to do was ask politely._ She thought, awed at the fact that this single man could be so evil. _Wait, it's another test! He's flaunting his power to show how dangerous he is! His plan is to make me appear beneath him (though technically I am, he's an Admiral and I'm a Captain) so he will appear to my troops as strong and make them fear him_. She remembered the Tarkin Doctrine: to rule by the fear of force, rather than force itself. A shiver ran up her spine. They were stuck; they had no choice but to ally with him against the covenant threat.

She had apparently remained silent too long; Ehren was starting to tap orders into his datapad. Master Chief and the others looked like they were ready to jump him. With speed born from desperation Miranda keyed the intercom.

"WAIT! Cortana, come here! NOW!"

Ehren set his datapad aside and watched the hologram projector. The purple silhouette of Cortana appeared and looked at Captain Keyes expectantly.

"Cortana I need you to stop messing around with Admiral Varick's ship—I mean it."

Cortana looked a bit bummed out, "Yes, Captain."

Outside a ragged cheer went up from the crew of the _Iron Wolf_. They were acting like they had just one a year-long battle.

Ehren turned to the intercom, "Captain, open a cask of the best champagne,I think we've just made some new allies." He switched off the intercom and faced the five leaders of the _Star Galleon_.

"Congratulations," he said as he took of his helmet. "You're in."


	5. A Man and His Ship

(A/N) All will be revealed in this and later chapters, lightman. I'm not going to give up any secrets or ideas about the story before I get to it. I don't own Star Wars or Halo.

Chapter 5: A Man and His Ship

Ehren stood before his new allies with his helmet in one hand and his other hand holding his blaster beneath his robes. They may be his allies but he didn't fully trust them yet, and he was vulnerable when he didn't have all his armor on. The man stood an impressive six-foot-two and had all the signs of a seasoned warrior.

His hair was little more than stubble, however most of it had been burned off completely by fire, lasers, and plasma. Scars outlined his face, and the three claw marks from an unfortunate Trandoshan tore down the left side of his face, leaving him with a permanent grimace and a mechanical eye. He wasn't ugly; in fact, all of the scars and gashes seemed to enhance his features. Despite all of the wounds his face remained friendly enough for Miranda to start doubting that this was the same man who had threatened the human race a few seconds ago.

"I apologize for the threat, usually I'm more diplomatic. It's just that times have been, stressful…" he trailed off, apparently considering something, but shook the thought away. "We'll help fix any damage we may have done to your ship. Then my people will get your ship out of my hanger, its impossible to launch fighter patrols with that thing in there."

Miranda cocked an eyebrow, "Aren't you worried that we may run away?"

"No. I have ten gravity well projectors and dozens of tractor beams; you couldn't go anywhere I didn't want you to."

Captain Keyes wasn't exactly sure how she should take that remark. She had personally seen the gravitational pull this ship could project, however Miranda now figured that he had been using very little of his ship's capability in that instance. Master Chief shifted his stance uncomfortably.

Ehren noticed the subtle movement, "It seems you don't like the current situation. Don't worry, warrior, I may be a mercenary but I am also a man of honor: my allies shall not come to harm if I can help it. Now would you like a tour of my flagship? I would enjoy showing off my pride and joy."

The mechanics looked into the hallway that the fight had taken place in. Being used to knocking out the occasional dent or fixing some small electrical problem the techs found their current task quite daunting. Bullet holes and blaster scars peppered the walls while larger craters showed where the grenades had gone off. A hole in the floor was the only sign that the lotus anti-tank mine had ever existed.

One of the mechanics swore and rubbed his temples, "Remind me again why we're doing this instead of them."

A younger man kicked a piece of debris down the hole so it landed on techs that were doing clean-up work on the lower floor and was rewarded by some oaths and insults, "The Admiral is a good host, and like all good hosts, he sends his inferiors to do the dirty work while he plays tour guide."

The techs shook their heads and got out their equipment. The younger man looked at the gloomy workers and said, "Hey could be worse." The mechanics gave him a blank stare. "Could be raining!"

A guffaw escaped one of the techs as they remembered the time when one of the soldiers had said that same thing, and as if on cue—

"SERGEANT AVERY JOHNSON! Put that cigar out this instant! That's against protoca—AAAAAAAUUUGGHH! YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Groans arose from the techs as the sprinkler system in the _Star Galleon_ turn on.

"This is the bridge," announced Ehren as the group (minus the Sergeant, he had excused himself so he could keep an eye on the techs) entered a large room similar to any other Star Destroyer command center. The only difference would be the throne-like command chair positioned so that he could keep an eye on everything in the room.

Miranda eyed the chair, "So you flaunt your superiority with toys, Admiral?"

She had not been impressed by the tour so far. All of it had either one of two things: quantum armor plating or a grandiose story of his mercenary's exploits which didn't impress the Captain one bit.

"Actually, no, Captain," the Admiral replied proudly. "This was a gift from the crew. They all pitched in and got me this for my Life-day." He got into the chair and began to show off a few of its functions. "Massage, personal computer, comm. systems, retractable blaster cannon (definitely made for Imperials who enjoy killing subordinates), and it rotates!"

"Ooooooo… snazzy," Cortana whispered to the Chief.

"I think he's off his rocker," Master Chief remarked, forgetting to turn off his external speakers.

The Admiral just grinned at the Spartan and keyed a new command into the chair. It immediately began to rock back and forth, "Now why would you say that?" He asked innocently, and then sobered. "I assure you I am not crazy, you might say I'm a bit eccentric, however I tested myself last week and my doctor says that my sanity is indeed intact."

Rubbing his hand together the Admiral got out of the command chair. _What can I show them next? Don't want to reveal too much, but then this is the first time I've ever really had allies. However I can't let myself start trusting them like they've began to trust those elites. Haven't shown them the factory yet… how about after dinner. What time is it?_

"Are any of you getting hungry? My chefs can fix anything you'd like," remembering that he wasn't talking to humans who ate the normal foods he added, "Well almost anything; I don't know what your culture eats so I guess I could give you a sampling of our foods, or maybe you would rather that I bring food in from your ship?"

An audible rumble from the Arbiter's stomach seemed to answer the first question. An apologetic gaze was shot at the Admiral, and the Arbiter returned to his sulking. He hadn't been comfortable on this ship since Ehren had pulled his blaster on him. Miranda swallowed and answered for everyone.

"It would probably be easier if we just brought food from our ship, thank you for the offer though."

Ehren sighed and used this as a reminder that he wasn't trusted either, "Of course."


	6. Nerf It's What's for Dinner

(A/N) I do not own Halo or Star Wars besides the characters I made up.

Chapter 6: Nerf…It's What's for Dinner

The three humans and the elite were sitting at Admiral Varick's personal dining table. The mercenary didn't like taking his meals there, most often he just ate with his men in the mess hall. However for the sake of diplomacy he would sit at a real table and eat real food.

"We've been fighting the covenant for the majority of the past year," Ehren explained between bites of nerf steak. "We've only been on the defensive once: when they first made contact with us. My mercenaries and I have been doing our best to make their lives miserable. It probably explains why the UNSC hasn't been having as much trouble lately. With me around the covenant has to split its forces between two enemies, not an ideal situation." Ehren looked at the Arbiter to see if he had a reaction to any of this before he continued, "You have mentioned these 'Halos,' artificial worlds that have the ability to destroy all life as we know it within a certain range. I agree with your solution, they must be either neutralized or destroyed, and I have just the ship to do it."

Pushing a few command buttons, the Admiral pointed to the holographic image of the _Iron Wolf_. "As I mentioned earlier, this ship has a scaled-down superlaser. It has merely enough power to crack the crust of a planet; however it should be enough to—"

Miranda interrupted when it became apparent that the Admiral was going off-topic, "Admiral, with all due respect, you haven't answered my question. Why exactly are you fighting the covenant?"

The mercenary paused, and frowned. He didn't want to answer that question, not yet; the pain was still too real. However he also knew she wasn't going to let this one slip, and with a sigh he related his story, "About ten standard months ago unidentified ships attacked my system. They called themselves the covenant and that they were commanded by the gods to destroy me." He adjusted himself in his seat and closed his eyes. "My fleet retaliated, however most were not fully through the process of putting on the quantum armor. In fact the only fully-armored ships available were a few Blockade Runners and a _Victory_-Class Star Destroyer. My planet didn't have many planetary-based weapons or shields, just enough to cover vital areas. I took a lot of casualties, and the covenant began to glass the planet even though the armored ships were still a threat." Pause. "That's when I showed up." Ehren shuddered at the memory of coming out of hyperspace to witness his fleet in ruin and his planet burning. "I was in the _Iron Wolf _on another mercenary gig to bring home the bacon. Even though I have the secret to making quantum armor, I still need money to pay for it." He stood and strode towards the window looking out into space. "The covenant managed to glass a nice chunk of farmland and cities before I could scare them away. Thousands died, and my resources were stretched very thin. I stayed long enough to help pay for damages and to get things back in order. I now have some decon droids trying to reclaim the lost land, but they won't succeed. In order to keep the covenant from returning I took the offensive, and for the past few months I've been herding them ahead of me like tame banthas."

He turned and looked at his allies, "Did I answer your question?"

"Yes, you did," Master Chief said quietly, looking at the Admiral in a new light. This was a man they could trust with their salvation. He wasn't on a mission of revenge; he was simply protecting the world he loved, just like the marines were. The Arbiter shook his head in admiration: this single ship, this one leader of a mercenary group, had been enough to make real warriors flee in terror. Miranda looked upon him with the utmost sympathy; she knew what it was like to have lost.

"Oooooo! FOOD!" A very wet Sergeant Johnson walked into the dining room, grabbed a bite of nerf steak and popped it greedily into his mouth.

"HEY!"

Laughter erupted in the room as the Admiral grabbed his plate out of the Sergeant's reach. The com. beeped and a very tired tech's voice hushed the merriment, "Admiral, all repairs have been made, and the UNSC _Star Galleon_ is ready for departure."

"Thank you, Lieutenant, let your men rest and have hanger control stand by for further orders."

"Yes, Sir."

As the tech signed off the laughter returned, the Admiral chiding Avery as though he was a child and then ordering food to be brought for the hungry Sergeant. Then they were free to return to business.

Miranda had another question, "So, if you are the leader of the planet why aren't you taking responsibility and staying there instead of directly fighting the covenant?"

"Good question, but technically I'm not in charge of the government, I just bring in the dough and any goods we need that are not already produced on Triad. However, I do take part in most of the political aspects as well. We have an elected president to handle the world's politics, but I'm the only ambassador to the outside universe, and so I'm used to being known as the leader of Triad." He turned to look out the window. "In fact the people of the world and the president himself see me as the same. So I understand it as me being the visual figure of power while the president pulls the strings with my input. It is really more complicated but since this is just a crash course—" He broke off as warning alarms wailed throughout the ship. The stern voice of Captain Mendoza snapped over the com. "We are under attack by a covenant fleet! I repeat, we are under attack by a covenant fleet, this is not a drill! All personnel report to their stations and prepare for battle! I repeat this is not a drill!"

The Admiral turned to face the astonished allies with a look of grim determination on his face, any traces of insanity disappeared the moment danger approached. He was again the warrior his troops knew and loved. The adrenaline was flowing; Ehren Varick was ready to fight.


	7. OH GOD! THE CARNAGE!

(A/N) Sorry about the long wait. My trial version of Word expired so I had to go and get the full version. I don't own Star Wars or Halo.

Chapter 7: OH GOD! THE CARNAGE!

Sirens blared as Ehren burst into the command center of the _Iron Wolf_. Quickly taking his position in the command chair, he took in the situation at a glance.

It couldn't have been better.

At least a dozen Covenant ships of all types filled the viewport, with more dropping out of hyperspace every second. The poor, poor bastards had NO idea what his single ship was about to hit them with, and, thanks to his gravity projectors, none of them would be leaving anytime soon.

_Suddenly I feel all warm and fuzzy inside_. Ehren thought as he turned his attention to Captain Mendoza, "Captain, let's show these fools what happens when they disturb my dinner."

The Captain grinned, "Yes, Sir!"

"Commander Siaka, what is the status of the _Star Galleon_?" The Admiral turned to face the Sullustian officer in charge of the hangers.

/It is completely repaired, Sir/ Siaka reported in his quick language/but we were not able to get it out of the main hanger before the Covenant arrived./

"Launch all fighter squadrons from the secondary hanger. They may choose their own targets."

/Yessir./

As the Sullustian turned to his console Captain Keyes strided into the bridge, accompanied by Master Chief. She ignored the alien and pressed past him to take her place in front of Ehren.

"I thought I told you to await my orders on your ship, Captain. This Covenant force is meant for me, not you. Once the fighters have been scrambled I will remove your ship and then you will retreat, understood?"

"No, I do not understand," Miranda said, flustered. Master Chief was obviously uncomfortable with not following a direct order—he visibly stiffened. "First of all, you are not in my chain of command, and thus have no rule over my actions. Second, there is no way you can take on a Covenant fleet this size and win! You need all the help you can get."

Ehren leaned back and considered what she had said, "You will follow my orders because I am of higher rank and have the power of deciding whether or not I want you to continue to breathe, and in response to your second point…" He gabbed a finger at the tactical display in the middle of the bridge. "…I'm winning."

She studied the hologram and discovered to her amazement that he was correct. Already five—no make that six of the Covenant capital ships had been destroyed, and others were starting to belch fire and atmosphere. His fighter squadrons were tearing up the Covenant's fighters like wet paper, no losses reported. It was a total massacre.

"So you see, Captain, your presence is not required. Now would you like to return to your ship or shall I provide an escort?"

Throwing a glare at the mercenary Miranda stormed out of the bridge pausing only to make sure Master Chief was following her. One of his officers threw a smile at Ehren.

"You certainly have a way with women, don't you Admiral?" He remarked.

"You want garbage duty, Lieutenant?" Ehren growled.

"No, Sir," gulped the young officer, knowing full well that "garbage duty" meant being thrown in the trash compactor and left for dead. Though the Admiral was lenient, any breech in discipline, insubordination, or cowardice during combat was viewed as treachery and was ruled as such.

"Good. Captain Mendoza, you're in command. I'm going to escort the _Star Galleon_ in the _Gnat_. Tell the Chimeras to ready their mounts and be prepared to fly in five minutes."

"Yes, Sir!"

After the battle that almost destroyed the Mandalorians most of the surviving warriors decided that their Basilisk War Droids were not fit for modern combat, they decided to follow Jaster Mereel's example by scrapping their old mounts and 'acquiring' more modern starships. The few who didn't simply modified their existing mounts and called themselves the 'Chimeras,' they soon became an elite fighting force, and proved that you can teach an old canoid new tricks.

The _Gnat_ is a heavily modified _Lambda_-Class Shuttle. Ehren was very proud of his old mercenary/bounty hunting ship. He improved the armament by adding two matching AG-2G turrets on either side of the upper stabilizer fin and also adding a ball-and-socket laser cannon turret (similar to the turrets on the wings of an Old Republic Gunship) on the ventral side. Ehren also replaced the two forward blaster cannons with ion cannons, making capturing a bounty much easier. He reconfigured the cockpit into a three-man configuration by simply taking out the copilot and centering the pilot seat with new controls. The pilot handling the forward laser cannons and ion cannons as well as flying, the navigator also handles communications and fires the ventral turret, and the main gunner handles the two dorsal turrets and maintained the power flow of the _Gnat_, and the rear blaster cannon is handled by a secondary gunnery station at the rear of the ship.

Now Ehren faced a problem when he made the ship, how would he man all the stations without having to deal with splitting the cash? The answer: droids, and not just any droids, battle droids. He managed to get a hold of some old Trade Federation battle droids and tinkered with their programming enough to give them some intelligence and personality, but not enough that they would become independent and want pay. His now quantum-armor-plated battle droids were prepping his ship, and the fifty Chimeras stood at attention next to their mounts.

"At ease, men."

The well-drilled pilots relaxed slightly, obviously impatient to get to work.

"We're on escort duty, we must protect the _Star Galleon _until it goes into hyperspace, and after that we finish up the battle and head for wherever the _Star Galleon _wants us to rendezvous at. Alright, lets go kick some Covenant ASS!"

With a bloodthirsty cry the Chimeras flew out of the hanger and into the chaos of war.


	8. The Cavalry Have Arrived!

(A/N) I do not own Star Wars or Halo.

Chapter 8: The Cavalry Have Arrived!

The _Gnat_ sped out of the hanger followed by the Chimeras in their old Basilisk War Droids. Quickly getting into formation the four squadrons took flanking positions around the disembarking _Star Galleon_. The large ship just barely fit inside the _Iron Wolf_'s hanger, and the process of getting the ship out without damaging it was a slow process.

"_Admiral! Banshees inbound, at point-zero-zero-two-eight!_"

"Copy that. Alpha and Beta squadrons, take them out. Gamma squadron, continue to protect the _Star Galleon._ Omega squadron, there are multiple inbound Covenant boarding craft at point-three-three-zero-one. You must eliminate them before they get to the _Galleon_."

Half-listening to the stream of acknowledgements to his orders Ehren addressed his two wingmates, "Deltas two and three, follow me. We're going to assist Omega squadron."

"_Copy that_."

"_Affirmative_."

Ehren relaxed in his pilot chair, his hands moving fluidly over the controls. It would take a second for them to reach the troopships and the carrier that had deployed them. He decided to check on Alpha and Beta squadrons, and did a quick eavesdrop on their reports to the tactical officers aboard the _Iron Wolf_.

"_Target destroyed/Talkar you've picked up a tail/Whoops! I see him/He's gone now./Target destroyed./Nice shot/There's a couple of Banshees making a run for it! Take them out/I see them, got one./There goes the other bastard, nice offhand shot Davis./Quit moving…_"

_Well they seem to be doing fine_. Thought Ehren as he switched back to his group channel. They were approaching the boarding craft now; he could see their U-shaped forms from his viewscreen. A squadron of Banshees escorted them and the carrier was making its way towards the _Iron Wolf_ as well. Ehren contacted his wingmates, "Leave the boarding craft alone, we're taking out the escorts."

With that he spun the _Gnat_ so it went head on with the squadron leader and squeezed out a sustained burst. It exploded in a ball of blue flame. Behind him the gunner droid, K-17, was hammering away with the turrets. Banshees fell like flies on fire.

"_Admiral, you've got one on your tail!_"

"A-4," Ehren shouted to the back of the ship, "take him out!"

"What do you think I'm doing, Sir?" came A-4's caustic reply.

"Laying back and sipping tea! Get to work soldier!"

Another explosion signaled the destruction of the tail. Around him the dropships were beginning to fall as the Omegas had their way with them. The carrier had come within range of the _Iron Wolf _now and was receiving its share of turbolasers. Ehren watched Delta 3 take out the last Banshee and return to formation alongside the _Gnat_.

"Deltas return to the _Star Galleon_ and assist Gamma squadron. I'm staying to take out the remaining boarding craft."

Aligning himself with the rear of the closest troopship he started to pour laser fire onto its shields. The dropships own turrets spun to track the _Lambda_ shuttle. Ehren ignored the plasma and continued his own stream of death. The enemy's shields flickered once and died, blossoms of fire appearing along the troopship's hull. Soon the boarding craft exploded, sending fragments of metal and meat hurling in space.

"_Admiral, this is Omega leader, what are our new orders?_"

"Return to the _Star Galleon_, it should be out by now. We need to escort it to a point where it can enter hyperspace."

"_Yes, Sir._"

The Admiral followed Omega squadron and soon found his assumption to be correct, the _Galleon_ was out and maneuvering into a position leading away from the battlefield.

"_Admiral Varick, this is Captain Keyes, we have found our exit vector. I have pinpointed it on your tactical display, if you would escort a lady to it._"

_'A lady' huh?_ "N-6 where is the Captains exit vector?"

"It's at point-three-five-six-three, Admiral."

Ehren looked at the droid in shock, "That leads TOWARDS the battle! What is she thinking?"

"I'm thinking that the Captain is planning on a fighting retreat, Sir," K-17 spoke up in her feminine voice, she was an oddity, K-17 was the only 'female' battle droid. "Technically, sir, she isn't disobeying your orders."

Ehren had to think about that, true he hadn't told her _where_ she had to retreat, or whether or not she was to avoid combat. He had simply ordered her to retreat and not help him in this fight. She wasn't helping him; she was merely taking the dangerous route to run. However he still didn't like it, but what choice did he have?

"Alright, fine, she can go out her way, and we will still escort her. Ready the concussion missiles. Let's plow the road!"

All four Chimera squadrons aligned themselves and prepared their weapons. Hundreds of Banshees flew to intercept—and in unison the Chimeras fired their missiles. Explosions erupted as the shatter missiles flew into the ranks of Banshees, sending debris and blue fire in all directions. Delta 2 was knocked off his Basilisk by a fuel rod burst and sent, screaming, into the blackness of space. Plasma strafed across the _Gnat's _canopy, making the window become opaque for a second. It was the chaos of a thunderstorm.

"Red group, Green group, Blue Group, Gold group, all fighters follow me! We need assistance!" Ehren yelled over the comlink as he dodged past a flaming Banshee and blasted another fighter to ashes.

In response all 54 squadrons of a collection of Z-95 Headhunters, Y-wings, TIE Interceptors, TIE Fighters, Skipray Blastboats, Hornet Interceptors, older X-wings, and even a 'borrowed' squadron of A-wings came to the rescue. The Banshees fell as wave after wave of laser fire tore into their ranks. In the chaos three more Chimeras were thrown off their mounts.

"_Admiral! This is Captain Keyes! Move your ships away from the forward side of the Star Galleon!_"

Without thinking Ehren followed the order, and his fighters scrambled to get out of the way as the _Galleon_ belched three thunderbolts and a flurry of missiles at a Covenant Cruiser. The first MAC round splashed against the shield, doing little damage; however the second round punctured a large hole in the shield, large enough for the third round to puncture the ship's reactors. The resulting explosion was large enough to destroy a nearby frigate's shield. Archer missiles pounded the helpless frigate and soon it was dead in space.

"Nice shot, Captain!" Were the words of many at that moment. Ehren himself was mildly impressed by the attack—JUST mildly.

"Captain Mendoza, target that Covenant Destroyer," he highlighted it on the tactical display. "And take it out with the superlaser."

"_Yes, Sir!_"

Ehren watched as the _Iron Wolf_'s main weapon was fired, disintegrated the Destroyer, and continue through to collide with and destroy a carrier. The explosion destroyed several nearby Banshee squadrons. Ehren smiled smugly to himself and continued his personal fight against a Banshee.

The _Star Galleon_ soon reached its exit vector and retreated into hyperspace, leaving the mercenaries to finish off the once-grand Covenant fleet. It wasn't long before the _Iron Wolf_ was ready to follow the UNSC ship into hyperspace.


	9. Taking the Bus to the Banquet

(A/N) Sorry about the long wait and the short chapter. I wanted the chapter longer but I figured that I better post _something. _The rest will be coming hopefully once finals are done. I don't own Star Wars or Halo.

Chapter 9: Taking the Bus to the Banquet

_I hate formalities,_ Ehren thought as he put on his dress uniform. The clean white uniform of an Imperial Grand Admiral was a very uncomfortable thing to wear. Especially due to the fact that Ehren had never been a Grand Admiral—he had, in fact, stolen the uniform from the closet of Grand Admiral Thrawn himself while he was briefly assisting the Chiss in acquiring some ships for the Admiral's campaign against the New Republic.

He pushed the uncomfortable thoughts aside as he focused on getting the numerous medals, bars, and ribbons hooked onto the left breast of the uniform. Why did they have to throw a big party just to celebrate a new ally? Hadn't he explained the only reason he wasn't charging them was because the Covenant were going to pick up the bill? He was a MERCENARY damnit! Not some respected senator. Ehren continued to fume as he clipped on the last medal and stood in front of the mirror. _Then again, the uniform does look good on me._ The comlink chimed as Ehren started towards the door.

"Admiral Ehren here."

"_Admiral, this is Captain Mendoza. There is a UNSC shuttle requesting permission to come aboard._"

"Permission granted, Captain."

"_Yes sir._"

As Ehren neared the door something caused him to hesitate and make his way to a display case opposite of his bed. Pushing a button Ehren watched the glass go from opaque to translucent in a few short seconds to reveal the treasures inside.

Lightsabers of every style lined the wall of the cabinet. Lightsabers Ehren had collected over the years. He hadn't personally acquired any of them from the Jedi themselves. Ehren had started his hobby long after the Jedi had supposedly gone extinct. Now he had quite a few, his hand strayed to one lightsaber in particular. The gold plated hilt was smooth, and as Ehren thumbed the activator a violet blade erupted with a familiar _snap-hiss_. Ehren smiled in memory of his former master and flipped it off. Then he opened one of the force-locked drawers and looked with a mixture of awe and horror at his own weapon of choice.

The Sith sword was a meter long, slightly curved, and resembled a Calvary saber used during the American Civil War. Its keen blade shown with an inner light and sithscript traced its way up and down the blade. Ehren had never truly joined the dark side, so he found it fitting to remind himself every time he drew that blade who his true allies were. On one side the sithscript read, "There is no emotion; there is peace/there is no ignorance; there is knowledge/there is no passion; there is serenity/there is no death; there is the Force"—the Jedi code. On the other side it read, "Darkness only makes the light shine brighter"—Ehren's personal motto.

Sheathing the sword in its black sheath and buckling it around his waist Ehren

turned and left his personal quarters.

"About time you showed up," Sergeant Johnson commented as Ehren stepped aboard the shuttle, followed by a two men and an entourage of battle droids. "You think we're going to war or something?"

"I thought we were already at war," Ehren countered. He pointed at the two men who had followed him in. "I would like you to meet Commander Brinks," he indicated a man who had obviously seen too many battles, his face haunted by the memories of fallen comrades and old wounds, but he was an extremely tough young man. "You should remember him from the welcoming committee you set up for me two weeks ago, Commander Brinks was the one who stepped on the antitank mine."

The quiet commander smiled shyly and said with a dry humor, "I'll remember to watch where I step the next time I'm sent as a forwarding party."

"I'm still surprised you survived that at all, armor or not, you should have been flattened like a pancake," Avery replied with a hint of admiration in his voice as he saluted the commander.

"Thank you, sir," saluted Commander Brinks. Ehren turned the Sergeant's attention towards the other man who had come in.

"Sergeant I would also like to introduce you to Major Melchior Sunderman. He's is our best sniper and a devil with daggers."

The tall, wiry man with sandy-blonde hair smiled and unslung his modified projectile weapon.

"Looks more like a assault rifle to me," the Sergeant commented as he saluted the Major.

"Oh, its only in its machine gun mode right now," Melchior replied as he flipped a switch near the trigger. With a few barely audible clicks and whirrs the rifle began it's change: the barrel extended, the magazine moved farther back towards the handle, a bipod extended where the magazine used to be, and the scope repositioned and lengthened. "With this puppy I can put a metal slug straight through a meter of durasteel at optimum range, which is a little more than one thousand meters."

Avery was a little shocked at the transformation and it took him a brief millisecond to ask, "Can I have one of those!"

"Only in your dreams, Sergeant, only in your dreams," Ehren laughed as the shuttle departed from the _Iron Wolf_.


	10. A Hero's Holiday

A/N: Sorry about the long wait, I had a writers block the size of China. Either Bungie or Lucasarts owns all the characters except for the stuff I made up.

Chapter 10: A Hero's Holiday

The banquet was every bit as boring as he knew it would be, long-winded speeches about Ehren's valor in battle, his courage, his unwavering desire to see the Covenant brought to justice… And through the entire production the only interesting thing that had happened was at security.

"You want me to do _what_?" K-17 asked as she brandished her BlasTech T-21.

"All I asked was to surrender your weapons! This is a BANQUET, not a firing range!"

Ehren forced the gun from K-17's hands before she would do anything he would regret. N-6 and A-9 also handed the officer their blaster pistols.

"Why doesn't the Admiral have to hand in his sword?" K-17 sniffed, or rather did the closest imitation of a sniff she could manage.

The security officer was growing impatient, "Because, _droid_, the Admiral's weapon is purely ceremonial."

Ehren hid his smile as the guard walked away. K-17 was never comfortable with anything less than a grenade launcher in her hands, and he doubted that she was never without a few concealed blasters in that compact frame of hers.

"So I see you've been enjoying yourself," Miranda noted as she joined Ehren and his group. "Where is Commander Brinks and Major Sunderman?"

"Checking out this station's defenses."

"Knowing you that means they are hacking into our system to find anything useful."

"Knowledge is power," Ehren said with a shrug.

"And I have a great deal of it concerning you."

Ehren turned away from her to inspect the punch with his mechanical eye. "How so?"

"I have my ways."

"Cortana, huh?"

"If I wanted you to know I wou—"

"Oh gross!" Ehren exclaimed stepping away from the snack bar.

Miranda watched Ehren, uncomprehending. "What?"

"Someone sneezed into the punch." Several people nearby quickly spat back into their glasses.

"Whoa, intentionally?"

"Doubt it."

They wandered over to a deserted table, followed by K-17 (A-9 and N-6 were in an animated conversation with an Admiral over the workings of the MAC guns).

"Anyway I noticed that they haven't even mentioned your run through the enemy fleet," Ehren said once they had settled.

"Oh that," Miranda blushed, embarrassed. "I got reprimanded for that 'dangerous, unnecessary, act that endangered the ship and crew.'"

"And they're right to do so. If you were in my fleet you would be dead right now."

Miranda was shocked into silence by that casual statement. Because the UNSC was in desperate need for skilled officers she had managed to get away with a warning. Even if there were a surplus of officers she still wouldn't have gotten anything worse than a demotion and perhaps a court martial. With a man like Ehren in command you were lucky if you got away with your life.

"Well, um, you don't mess around with your crew, do you?"

"In my fleet there is no room for insubordination, no matter how pressed I am for good officers."

They sat in an uncomfortable silence, until K-17 sighed that way women sigh after reading a harlequin.

"What was that about?" Ehren stared at the droid, whose head was cocked and focused on the two humans.

"Oh… nothing…"

Ehren was about to inquire further when alarms started blaring. General panic from the ambassadors and dignitaries was mixed with the calm, resigned manner of the Admirals and soldiers. Ehren snatched up his comlink.

"Mendoza report!"

"_Covenant sir, looks like they managed to rebuild their entire fleet in two weeks sir. They have launched fighters, boarding craft and landers. Permission to engage?_"

"Permission granted."

He looked at his droids, who had reclaimed their weapons and were waiting for orders.

"First we need to find Brinks and Melchior, then let's get back to the _Iron Wolf_. Follow me."

Running to the nearest door and punching the open switch, Ehren came face to face with a creature that made Chewbacca look tame: a Brute.


	11. The Defense of Earth

A/N: I hated writing that stupid banquet, so now on to some action! Everything is owned either by Bungie or Lucasarts.

Chapter 11: The defense of Earth

The brute seemed just as surprised as the human. It reached for it's plasma rifle but Ehren was faster. In a flash of silver the brute was bisected from shoulder to groin. Ehren stepped over the carcass, deflecting plasma shots from the terrified grunts.

"Get your weapons! We've got a battle to win!"

Marines guarding the other two entrances to the ballroom had already fallen back behind a barricade of tables. The whine of plasma merged with the discharge of rifles. K-17, wielding her large repeating blaster, painted the walls with blood. A-9 and N-6 picked off the survivors with their own blaster rifles.

On the other side of the room, Ehren was carving a bloody path through the endless sea of grunts, jackals, and brutes. Miranda covered the mercenary with bursts from her SMG. "Where is that damn Spartan when you need him?" Miranda yelled over the din as she downed another grunt.

And as though in answer to her question an explosion ripped a hole in the ceiling. There a pelican dropped through with five figures standing at the opening to the cargo hold—four Spartans and an elite.

This caused a momentary lull in the fighting as everyone took a glance at the newcomers. Most of the grunts immediately turned and ran, the brutes cursing their cowardice. However shortly after the fighting returned the covenant pulled back deeper into the hallways in order to rethink their strategy.

The pelican landed, releasing its troops as well as the five warriors. The Spartans saluted Miranda as she approached. Ehren only knew Master Chief from the other three because of his height and the fact that he was the only one to salute when he neared.

"Thanks for showing up, Chief," Ehren said as he wiped the blood off his sword. "Who are those other three?"

"They are my team," Master Chief pointed to them in turn. "Fred, Linda, and Will. This is the mercenary I was telling you about, Admiral Varick."

The three Spartans saluted stiffly, apparently not having a very high opinion of the Admiral.

"So what's the plan Chief?" one of the dignitaries asked.

"All ambassadors and admirals are getting out of here, everyone else is going to kick some covenant ass. Now get on the pelican."

Once the pelican had lifted off. Ehren, Miranda, the Spartans, and the Arbiter laid down plans for retaking the building.

"We'll split up into three groups, Ehren will lead Red Group, Master Chief will lead Green Group, and Arbiter will lead Blue Group," Miranda dictated. "I will go with Ehren, he will also have his droids and six of the dozen helljumpers you brought with you Chief. Chief will have his Spartans and the other six helljumpers. Arbiter gets all the Marines in here. We each go out a different door. There is only one way into this building. Take different routes to it so we can take down as many covenant as we can in the first sweep. Are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" Everyone present replied.

"Wait, Miranda, does 'all the Marines' include Johnson," Arbiter inquired.

"Yes."

"Do I have to take him?"

"Yes, you do, and if I find out that you killed or allowed the Sergeant to be killed you are going to spend the rest of your life in the detention center of the _Iron Wolf_."

The Arbiter visually paled at the threat. Ehren noticed a smirk from Avery, who had been pretending not to be listening.

"That goes for you to, Sergeant," Erhen growled.

"What goes for me?" He asked innocently.

"You know what," Ehren replied as he turned to get his team together. K-17 was taking potshots down the hallway at the shield wall the jackals had put up, occasionally getting hit by a concentrated purple beam.

"They have snipers, Admiral."

"Then take them out."

"Doing so, Admiral."

"With a thermal detonator."

K-17 grabbed a sphere from behind one of her breastplates. "Would this do?"

"The bastards won't know what hit them."

She flipped a switch on the ball and hurled it over the shield wall while quickly ducking back into the cover of the door. After a couple seconds, during which they could hear the general panic caused by the thermal detonator being hurled into their midst, the deafening roar of an explosion followed by a wall of fire shooting past the doorway caused even the most battle-hardened marines to flinch away from the door in surprise.

"Well," Ehren breathed as the fire died. "Lets go see how we did."

The explosion had destroyed the interior walls nearest to it, debris from the roof had filled the crater in the floor, and only the covenant that had been farthest away from the blast had any remains. Bits of bone, bleached white, were welded into the melted metal and newly formed glass. Daylight, and the sounds of battle outside, drifted in through a crack in the ceiling.

Miranda was NOT happy.

"You could have killed us all in that blast!" she fumed. "And what about the others, did you consider that they may be within the blast radius? Do you even care?"

Ehren merely looked at her and started walking down the hall, or what was left of it. They came up against few covenant after that, most simply ran away in terror from the humans who could destroy an entire squad and the building they're in with a single grenade.

The only one who stood and fought was, oddly enough, a grunt.

Rounding a corner they were taken by surprise when a flurry of pink needles flew down the hall at them. Ehren ducked back behind the corner, but one needle bounced off the wall and into his leg. A yell of pain erupted from his chest when his leg exploded into meat; it had taken out his hamstring. One of the other marines had gotten a lot worse off. Receiving a needle in the neck was deadly enough, but the resulting explosion took his head straight off, showering them with blood.

Ehren, his anger fueling his body and numbing his pain, rounded the corner and plunged his sword through the grunts face. Then he sent force lightning coursing up the sword and into its brain. He kept it up until the grunt's head exploded, releasing his sword.

Ehren slumped to the ground, his once white dress uniform was torn and bloody, revealing the breastplate he wore. His body trembled from the power he had released on the creature, and he passed out from the loss of blood.


	12. Bad Dreams

A/N: I do not own Star Wars or Halo.

Chapter 12: Bad Dreams

Ehren stood in a dark throne room. It had been beautiful, once, before the man in the chair, which was currently turned away from him, had come to power. Fine cloth and tapestries had once ordained the now bare obsidian durasteel. Lavish carpets and rugs had made the bare floor comfortable. It had once been a bright and welcoming room, but now evil had settled in and the only thing of beauty now was the large window overlooking the Coruscant cityscape.

"I see you noticed the makeover," a croaking voice wafted from behind the chair.

"Yes, my master," Ehren acknowledged, hating himself immediately for saying those words.

"So the one who supposedly turned his back on the dark side now finds himself unable to turn his back on the master of it," now the chair turned, revealing the cloaked man sitting in it, a smug look on his grotesque face.

"Only a remembered master," countered Ehren. "Haven't you forgotten? You're dead."

The ghost of Palpatine didn't like that. His already hideous face became even more so with barely contained anger. "Death cannot contain me! Ever since you left me I have been the whispering in your ear. I have been the image you see in the mirror. I have been the source of your power. Without me your nothing!"

Ehren could not help but laugh at the twisted soul of a man who had been stomped so far into the ground that all he could do was be an unpleasant memory.

"Darth Sidious, ever since I left you I have done nothing but GAIN power. It was I, not you, who united the Mandalorians. It was I, not you, who conquered a planet and began a nation. And it was I, not you, who has brought prosperity to that same nation," Ehren said. "You are nothing, you grasp onto false truths in vain hope someone will respect you again. I remember the time I spent as your apprentice as a time of deception and cruelty. I will have nothing to do with you anymore."

The Mandalorian Jedi turned his back on the spectre and made his way to the door.

"If you have truly turned your back on me, why do you use a Sith blade?"

Ehren halted, not turning.

"You still follow the Sith teachings."

He stiffened.

"Yet you say you have turned your back on the night, you have moved on and been reclaimed. You charge me with deluding myself, saying that I'm no more than a bad memory, but you are truly the one lying to yourself. I know that you have no qualms about the lives of those around you as long as you achieve your goal."

"I changed the name of the blade—"

"However the purpose is still the same, that sword has a memory, Darth Emlyn, it knows what it was made for."

Now Ehren turned, his good eye blazing. "Don't, _EVER_, call me by that name again."

"Why not? It is your name—and it states your purpose, to kill, to kill, and to kill again. Well, at least until you breathe your final breath."

"My purpose is what I chose it to be—"

"You never got a choice," Palpatine said caustically. "First off, you were born a Mandalorian. You were raised to be a warrior, and then a Jedi, and then a Sith. Every single one of those steps required that you learn and do combat. Only when you bowed out from being what you were _meant_ to be, you were given a second to choose whether to return to bounty hunting or to retire and be peaceful. You choose the first because you had always known that life and you were afraid to try any other. You are a coward."

Ehren's face became a mask. An impenetrable silence fell upon the room. The two men stared into each other's eyes. Seconds ticked by as the stare-down continued.

Finally Ehren spoke, "You will come to regret those words."

Palpatine simply smiled, "Undoubtedly so, my apprentice."

"Then if you will excuse me, my allies are waiting, Master."

"Go to them, Darth Emlyn, and may your rage be your foe's bane."

"I will not fail, Master."

"I know you won't."


	13. The Defense of Earth II: The Sequel

A/N: Lets face it, I'm not putting in enough comedy for this to classify as such. That's why it is now strictly "Action." I'll still squeeze in a few laughs if I can. I do not own Star Wars or Halo except for the characters I created.

Chapter 13: The Defense of Earth II: The Sequel

"I think he's coming to," a gruff voice echoed.

Ehren opened his eyes, and then immediately shut them again as sunlight stabbed his cornea. He swallowed; then opened his eyes slowly as he tried to sit up. Miranda and the Spartan quickly forced him back into a lying position.

"You've been injured, lie still as the medics treat you," Miranda said calmly, her face composed but drained of any color.

"How long have I been out?"

"Only about five minutes," Master Chief said.

The battle still raged around them. The chatter of automatic weapons mixed with the whine of plasma weapons. Overhead X-wings and Longsword Interceptors clashed with Banshees and Seraph Fighters. The fireball of a Wraith mortar flew over the resting Marines and shattered a nearby building.

Ehren motioned to N-6, "Call the _Gnat_ and bring me my armor."

"Yes, Sir."

"Admiral," Miranda shouted, stunned. "You are far too injured to even consider returning to battle. What you need to do is get back to the _Iron Wolf_ and receive medical treatment."

Ehren waved her away from him as he sat up. "No, that is what I _should_ do. What I am going to do is kill as many covenant bastards as I can." The Mandalorian stood, grimacing as he put weight on his leg, but quickly composing himself and banishing the discomfort from his mind. "My sword."

The Arbiter handed the saber to Ehren, who latched the sword to his belt. Not long after the _Gnat_ touched down in the middle of the street. Ehren walked up the gangplank, followed by K-17, N-6, A-9, Miranda, Master Chief with his Spartans, and Sergeant Johnson.

"N-6, can you pilot this ship closer to the battle. Anywhere that looks like it needs reinforcements will do. A-9 you take navigation. K-17, would you be so kind as to direct the Marines to the cargo hold, they are sitting ducks in those buildings. Sergeant Johnson, take A-9's position as rear gunner. Captain, could you go wait with the Marines? Spartan, help me with my armor."

After he had gotten his armor on, Ehren assessed the situation on a tactical hologram. He had no idea where Major Sunderman and Commander Brinks had gone. They could be KIA for all he knew. However Ehren searched for their transponder signals as well as summarizing how the battle was going. So far the covenant hadn't given up the space battle yet, despite their numerous casualties. The _Iron Wolf_ as well a several UNSC battle cruisers was keeping the covenant ships from glassing the planet. The ground battle however was, for once, going badly for the Marines. Covenant forces had already captured most of the major cities.

The Admiral immediately knew why. The brute shock troops had quickly demoralized the UNSC infantry, and combining that with incompetent CO's made the covenants job that much easier. All of the best generals were in the outlying systems—unable to assist with the decisions of generals who had less experience.

The other problem was Ehren's fault. His mercenaries hadn't been deployed to the ground. Ehren knew he should have given the order the second he saw the Brute looming the doorway. Angry with himself and Captain Mendoza for not thinking for himself, Ehren keyed the comm.

"Captain Mendoza, order all infantry to go planetside. The Marines need all the help they can get."

"_Acknowledged, Admiral. Where are they to deploy?_"

"Their orders are to deploy in and take cities: New York City, Cairo, Athens, Tokyo, Moscow, Baghdad, Baltimore, the District of Columbia, Los Angeles, Berlin…"


	14. Not Very Well

A/N: Wait a minute! Weren't there two other blokes who came with the Admiral? I wonder how they are doing…

Chapter 14: Not Very Well

"Commander, might I remind you that just because some AI is telling you 'no' is not an excuse for not getting this damn door open!" shouted Major Melchior as a trio of brutes ran down the hall, showering the two unfortunate soldiers with plasma fire.

"I'm working on it, the whole system is locked down. You'd think that the planet was being invaded."

"It _IS_ being invaded."

"Well that explains it," countered Brinks as he typed in a new series of commands into the console. Melchior sighed, bracing his custom sniper rifle against his shoulder. Quickly diving out of cover the mercenary artfully put two of the brutes down with headshots. The third roared in anger as a bullet tore through it's left ear.

There was no time to bring his rifle to bear as the brute charged, raising its arm for a crushing blow that, even with quantum armor, had a good chance of crushing his head. Dodging to the right, Melchior drew one of the many combat vibroknives from his belt. With one clean slice the brute's head was hanging by a thread and its body smashed into the still-sealed door.

"Boom, headshot," Melchior said to himself, sheathing the vibroknife. The red arrow on the door suddenly turned green as a triumphant cry arose from Commander Brinks.

The cry of triumph quickly changed into one of anguish as the green energy of a fuel rod cannon struck the Commander on the chest, enveloping him in a blinding light and hurling the limp body up against the wall. Unlike Melchior, who had the sense to wear full battle armor, Brinks had only worn a breastplate. Not much help against the pair of hunters who had been lying in wait on the other side.

"Dammit!" Bile rose to his mouth as he changed his sniper rifle into an assault rifle. The first hunter charged through the doorway, its sharp spines cutting canyons into the ceiling. The metal slugs easily tore through the hunter's normally impregnable armor, leaving exit holes the size of car wheels in its back. Jumping back to keep from being crushed by the hunter's corpse, Melchior failed to avoid being blindsided by the other.

Stars exploded as Melchior was slammed into the opposing wall, his rifle torn out of his hands and lying on the ground by Brink's burnt body. _And I'll be dead like him too_ _if I don't get up_. Leaping to his feet just in time to dodge an energy bolt Melchior drew his vibroknives, hoping to get close enough to use them.

The two warriors circled each other, the hunter trying to fire a killing blow, and Melchior trying to find an opening. _If only I could get my gun._ The knives wouldn't work, he knew that, but they where his only option. _I need my gun._ He looked past the hunter at his rifle; the hunter had been smart enough to keep the human from getting his hands on it.

Suddenly the hunter lunged forward, gun raised and charging. _I need my gun NOW!_ Cool metal slid into Melchior's grip, the rifle seemed to act on its own, pulsing lead into the hunter's surprised face, splattering the ground with orange blood. With a sickening _crunch_ the covenant behemoth died.

Without looking back, without questioning how he had reacquired his gun, Melchior ran through the doorway and into the sunlight.


	15. He is not dead yet!

A/N: Happy New Year! I resolve to take even longer at getting chapters up! Just kidding, I don't own Star Wars or Halo.

Chapter 15: He is not dead yet!

Brinks lay still on the cool steel floor, lazily watching blood flow from his skinless body. He was going to die, and it could not come sooner! Already his nerves had begun to spark back to life, telling him just how badly he was injured.

For the thousandth time in his career quantum armor had saved his life, and for the first time, he wished it hadn't. Melchior had left him for dead. Well, no surprise, anyone other than Commander Antilles Brinks would have been killed instantly. The Major wouldn't have thought survival possible.

_And I wish survival wasn't possible!_ Fire had flown up his body in the great surge of delayed pain that follows every injury. A howl ripped from Brink's throat just as a pair of grunts was walking by.

Now grunts are in no way intelligent, but Brinks was unlucky enough to announce himself in front of grunts that had standing orders to capture any injured members of the Iron Wolf Mercs. Darkness clouded the Commander's eyes as the two small aliens lifted his body and carried him back to their headquarters.

"Hold your fire!" Ehren shouted to the marines as a lone figure stumbled out of a shelled building. The Admiral hobbled forward and wrapped Melchior in a warm embrace. "I was afraid that you had been killed, my friend," Ehren smiled. "But I have underestimated you, now where is Commander Brinks? If you survived, he must have, nothing can kill Brinks."

There was a long silence, as though the entire world had stopped to listen to the Major's response, "A Hunter might…sir, Brinks is dead."

An explosion sent dirt and shrapnel pinging of Ehren's helmet. He suddenly felt very old; too many friends were dead from the clone wars, the many bounties and wars he had fought since… _Now is not the time for mourning, now is the time for war!_ He shook his head. "Well, that's war for you," Ehren grumbled, drawing his sword and signaling the marines to continue their advance.

The marines, bolstered by the mercenaries, had quickly regained control of much of the city. The air was heavy with the scent of ozone and burnt bodies. It wasn't pleasant, but again, that was war. In this newly liberated section all was quiet except for the periodic explosions and occasional covenant sniper fire. The skeletal figures of bombed-out buildings reminded Miranda of pictures she had scene of Berlin in World War II. It was beautiful, serene, almost poetic and sadder than history forgotten and future forsaken.

"Only the eastern corner left, marines."

They had reached the only bridge not destroyed during the initial assault, and it was held by the covenant. If a trench fight was a massacre, than a bridge battle was genocide. The marines would be walking on a platform over water that had little in the way of cover and forced them into a bottleneck. The covenant had dug themselves in on the opposite side and reinforced the position with snipers, covenant missile launchers, artillery, and AA.

"Why can't we just send the mercenaries in? Their quantum armor will allow them to get through unharmed," suggested Master Chief. Ehren shook his head.

"Even with QA my troops would have difficulty crossing, and it would cause an unnecessary loss of life."

"I thought your armor was indestructible."

"It is, but the flesh and bone bodies inside the armor are not—and droids can be disabled no matter what armor they don," Ehren untied the faux-leather grip on his sword and began to absentmindedly to retie it. "At this point I would suggest a surgical bombardment of the opposing side of the bridge, either artillery or orbital."

"They've taken out our artillery."

"Orbital it is then."

"Wait," Miranda cut in. "Couldn't an orbital strike take out more than the target? It's not the most accurate method, I mean."

Ehren took a steady look at her before continuing, "True, we could very well vape the entire city along with everything in it. However my gunners are incredibly accurate. More than once they have destroyed one building in a crowded metropolitan area with little or no collateral damage, it will take no more than a few turbolaser blasts to level the entire hostile area."

The Earth humans took furtive glances at each other. None of them wanted to cross the bridge without first dealing with the opposing forces, but they also didn't like the idea of the _Iron Wolf_ taking potshots at their planet. In the end though they had no choice and Ehren gave the order.

Six bolts of green lightning shot out of the gray clouds and splashed onto the covenant forces, sending fire and debris hundreds of feet into the air. Sand and dirt spread out from the impact point like a Tatooine sandstorm. The heat from the lasers could be felt for miles around, and the air stunk of ozone.

The mercenaries had started to cross the bridge even before the dust had time to reach the other side of the river, using tactics that came straight from the history books. The mercenaries in the front few rows carried a shield of quantum armor and a powerful T-21 Light Repeating Blaster similar to the modified T-21 that K-17 carried. The blaster was inserted through a slot in the tower shield, and the shield itself was supported by a small repuslorlift motor that raised the shield a few inches off the ground, and could be magnetically coupled to other shields in order to create and impenetrable wall off QA and blasters. In the second row mercenaries coupled their shields to the top of the front rows, making what was called in roman times a turtle formation. The mercs in the second row would support the first by launching grenades through the slots in their shields. Any attack from the front would be futile.

"All we have to do to protect the sides is make a three sided square," Ehren explained to Miranda and Master Chief as they walked in the center of the formation. "A few people carry triangular shields that fit into the gaps made in the corners when the second row locks their shields into positions, and each of those has a deflector shield attached to it, so when all four corner shields are in place they connect to each other and we have an instant roof. We use this tactic a lot when we are going over terrain that has no cover, its low cost, reliable, and can be deployed in a matter of seconds. Once we cross the bridge we are going to close up the sides so we have a temporary HQ. After I do that the only way in or out is by air, I haven't created a shield that also acts as a door yet."

Master Chief had always wondered what it would be like to go back to Reach and walk on the glassed sections of the planet.

Now he knew.

The dust had settled onto the completely flat wasteland that had once housed scores of covenant forces. Every one of them was dead. A single barrage of turbolasers had leveled the buildings that had sheltered them from bullets and bombs. The ground had become a sickly tan, and was coated with a layer of glass that crunched under his booted feet.

The wall of shields was still in place as a square and had become a temporary fortress. They had deactivated the repulsorlifts so that the shields would sit on the ground, leaving no room for a grenade to be rolled under. Imperial Landing Craft landed in the center of the fort, unloading supplies and temporary buildings and vehicles, and transporting injured to the hospitals in the liberated areas of the city. They had to be quick, as the shield could only be down for a few seconds because the surviving covenant would fire rockets and grenades into the compound.

After the orbital bombardment, the surviving covenant had quickly taken control of the buildings surrounding the "dead zone." Ehren commanded the mercenaries to stay at their posts and quickly replace the weak grenade launchers his troops normally used with mortars. He then ordered them to fire in a sequence that maximized both fire rate and overall destruction. The tactic had so far kept the covenant from coming so close as to pose a threat, but it also wasn't driving them from the city—a fact that made Master Chief both annoyed and furious.

"This is doing nothing but wasting ammunition," he complained to his fellow Spartans as they sat around a table in the temporary mess hall. "We should be going out there and forcing them from the city ourselves, not sitting in here gathering dust and developing a migraine."

Fred agreed, but Linda had doubts. "I think the Admiral knows what he's doing," she mused. "If we rush this, if we had immediately crossed the bridge and charged their position, the marines and the mercenaries alike would have suffered extreme casualties. They don't have just a few scattered groups of grunts out there." Pause. "However I do agree that sitting here isn't preventing the covenant from getting reinforcements. We should crush them soon before they reinforce their position."

One of the mercenaries had stopped to listen to the Spartan's discussion, now he set his meal tray down on their table and sat down. "You obviously don't have all the detail so I'll supply them to you. The Admiral wouldn't be sitting here if he thought that they might have some way to attain reinforcements, and he knows that the covenant has reinforcements on the way. It may not look like it from down here but we have this place surrounded. This portion of the city is bordered on one side by a river, and the other side by hills. Now the Admiral knows that the covenant could easily go through the hills to escape or become reinforced. The river is out of question because we control it. He has just informed your Captain that he's got the hills protected by his full complement of AT-ATs and their support craft such as AT-STs, AT-PTs, heck he even has a few of the older assault vehicles from the Clone Wars! Along with about 30,000 mercenaries I think he has those hills covered." He looked at each of them in turn, daring them to question the ability of his commander.

"How do you know all this?" inquired Fred. The man pointed to his insignia, but none of the Spartans recognized the symbol so he rolled his eyes and spoke as though they came from Agamar.

"I am one of the true Mandalorians," he explained slowly. "About ninety-eight percent of the people you see here are from Triad or are joiners who were recruited from the planets we visited. The rest of us came from Mandalore. We are privileged by our current Mandalore, Ehren, to receive more intel and better equipment as well as better food, dorms, and entertainment. Note that is a privilege. He lets us be technically superior as long as we don't rub it in everyone else's face or generally make complete Asses of ourselves. That doesn't stop a few of us, but the Admiral makes sure they get their just desserts."

"That explains a lot, thank you," Linda sighed. "But what are AT-ATs or those other vehicles."

"Oh, you'll know what an AT-AT is soon enough," the mercenary chuckled. "We'll be getting six of them."


End file.
